Category: Natural Gas Supply

A drilling foreman once told me, “Don’t believe ANY reserve number unless it’s linked to a price.” And, that is just what petroleum geologist and consultant Arthur Berman and his colleague Lyndon Pittinger have done in a new report on the viability of shale gas in New York state. Not surprisingly, when Berman and Pittinger considered what it would cost to extract the shale gas beneath New York state at a profit, the mammoth claims about recoverable reserves made by the oil and gas industry appeared heavily inflated. The stunning conclusion of the report is that at current prices–in the mid-$4 range per thousand cubic feet (mcf)–NONE of the natural gas trapped in the New York portion of the Marcellus can be profitably extracted. It’s possible, of course, that someone would try. But, the economics look very shaky at current prices given what we know about the nature of […]

Click here to view full article at peakoil.com

Rising production of natural gas in the Marcellus shale play in the Appalachian basin continues to outpace the growth in the region’s pipeline takeaway capacity, which has led to supply backups in the region, the US Energy Information Administration reported in a weekly gas report. Because of this fact, EIA observed, new gas production is unable to flow to areas of high demand, “placing downward pressure on prices in the region.” EIA noted that this phenomenon has also “contributed to a number of natural gas wells in Marcellus remaining backlogged, with a Feb. 28 report from Barclay’s estimating that more than 1,300 wells there are drilled but not completed.” EIA noted that several proposed and recently completed projects will provide additional pipeline infrastructure to relieve some of the Marcellus supply glut. “Projects that have recently come online, such as Transcontinental Pipeline Co.’s (Transco) Northeast Supply Link, have expanded the […]

Click here to view full article at www.ogj.com

For years, the shale industry has touted the economic benefits it can provide. An overflowing supply of domestic natural gas will help keep heating and electric bills low for American consumers, they argue, while drilling jobs and astounding royalty windfalls for landowners will reinvigorate local economies. These tantalizing promises have caught the attention of politicians in Washington, D.C. who argue that the rewards of relying on shale gas outweigh the risks, especially because harm can be minimized by the industry or by regulators. But across the U.S., communities where drilling has taken place have found that the process brings along higher costs than advertised. Even when properly done, drilling carries with it major impacts — including  air pollution , truck traffic , and plunging property values  — and when drillers make mistakes, water contamination has left residents without drinking water or cleaning up from disastrous well blow-outs . And as […]

Click here to view full article at www.desmogblog.com

The American Petroleum Institute said hydraulic fracturing of shale reserves helped lead to the gas production increase credited with lowering U.S. emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency said the amount for greenhouse gasses emitted in 2012 — the last full year for which data are available — decreased 3.4 percent from the previous year. API spokesman Zachary Cikanek said an increase in the production of cleaner-burning natural gas was in part responsible for lower reported greenhouse gas emissions. "Innovations in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have helped make the U.S. the largest producer of natural gas in the world," he said in a statement Tuesday. "America is leading the world in reducing greenhouse gasses thanks, in part, to the revolution in natural gas production." Hydraulic fracturing, known also as fracking, is highly controversial because some of the chemicals used in the process are viewed as […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com